Lighty is a veteran of various kickboxing tournaments in which he
didn’t know his opposition until they advanced in a same-night
field. That didn’t bother him any more than Larkin replacing
Ishii.

“I always go in there with the same game plan … and that’s to win
and to make an exciting show for myself and for everybody else,”
Lighty said.

Lighty knows very little about Larkin, an undefeated light
heavyweight prospect who is 8-0 as a pro. In fact, Lighty said he
has seen just one clip of his opponent.

Unlike Ishii, an Olympic judo gold medalist transitioning into MMA,
Larkin’s resume suggests he’ll bring some dangerous striking to the
cage. He has knocked out opponents in a variety of ways, including
via an elbow, a head kick and punches. Against Lighty, though,
Larkin will be making his promotional debut in Strikeforce on a
Showtime-televised card. It’s an opportunity for both fighters to
shine, but with that said, the stage doesn’t make much of a
difference to Lighty.

“A fight’s a fight,” he said. “If it’s a Challenger card in the
backyard of my house with 10 people watching or 20,000, it’s all
the same. I just believe if you do well on a small show or a big
show, people are going to notice you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a
small show. I could care less. I like big shows, I like small
shows, I like it all. I just like fighting.”

Lighty is 6-1 in roughly three years of MMA competition. He got
into the sport just to prove to himself that he could do it, but
now he’s enjoying getting paid to do what he loves. He’s also
always wanted to fight in the UFC, and that possibility doesn’t
seem too distant since the UFC bought Strikeforce.

His matchup against Larkin is a one-fight deal. A win could
catapult Lighty on to bigger and better things, but he’s keeping it
basic heading into Friday night.

“The way I think about it is, if you don’t win and you don’t put on
a good show, then no one wants to see you fight,” Lighty said.
“It’s kind of cut and dry. Either you go out there and do what you
train … or you pack it up and do something different.”